How A European Astronaut Ended Up With A NASA-Issued Omega Speedmaster + Hands-On With A True Space Watch

We all know that the Omega Speedmaster Professional was the watch chosen above all others to become the official chronograph of NASA. But today, our friends at FratelloWatches share with us a personal story about a Speedie Pro that ended up on the wrist of a seasoned ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut. The thing is, the watch was undoubtedly issued by NASA, so how did he get it?. Click through for the full story about how this authentic space watch ended up in the hands of team Fratellofor this exclusive photoshoot.

Something strange happened in 2013. Omega released a new self-winding Speedmaster with its killer co-axial movement and called it the Speedmaster '57. It looked like the original reference 2915 from 1957 in so, so many ways, right down to the crown-guard-less, polished case, and steel bezel. It was, as I called it back then, a superb offering for someone looking for a vintage-looking watch with great styling but with modern technology at a great price, from a blue-chip brand. But one thing really bugged me about that watch – where were the broad-arrow hands? You call it a Speedmaster '57, and do everything right except give it its most identifiable trait? I didn't get it, I still don't, but it doesn't matter now because Omega went ahead and fixed that.

This year, Omega will be complementing their Dark Side and Grey Side of the Moon Speedmaster collections with the new White Side of the Moon. The watch, named for the radiant portion of the moon as seen from the Earth, features an abundance of white zirconium oxide ceramic on both the dial and the case. The original Dark Side of the Moon Speedmaster was the first to sport an entirely ceramic construction, and the latest addition seen here continues the trend in a new colorway.

What is the Omega Globemaster? That's a good question, because it's not a name one might be familiar with like the releases from Omega in years past. It does, technically, belong to the Omega Constellation family, though little is being done to tie the two together beyond the historical nod in the form of a pie-pan dial. But what the Globemaster does have is what Omega is claims to be its most advanced mechanical movement, ever.

Omega continues to expand their Dark Side of the Moon collection this year with the introduction of four new models to the family: Black Black, Sedna Black, Pitch Black, and Vintage Black. Each feature cases constructed entirely from ceramic, and as their names imply, they’re all black. Diversity is found in their use of new colors and materials within the dial. Inspired by the astronauts of NASA’s Apollo 8 mission, the new watches represent Earth’s night lights against the backdrop of space.

Situated on Oxford Street, arguably one of the most busy and well known shopping streets in Europe, Omega's new London boutique opened less than two months ago and offers the full range of Omega watches and accessories. Here you will find some of the true Omega icons alongside more contemporary pieces, as well as some interesting and rarer limited editions. Click through for full details.

Last week, Christie’s held an online auction to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Goldfinger, the third Bond film, which first hit theaters in 1964. With all proceeds going to the NSPCC, online bidders spared no expense in snatching up iconic James Bond memorabilia. Omega provided a contribution of their own to the auction, a piece unique Seamaster Aqua Terra covered in 18k gold. Pre-auction estimates on the watch were 12,000-18,000 CHF. The final realized price? 106,000 CHF.

Some would say that the glory days of the Omega dress watch are long gone, overshadowed by the success of their contemporary sports watches, which are undoubtedly brilliant. As nice as the modern day Constellation may be, it certainly doesn’t capture the same magic that the Pie Pan once did, and the De Ville line can’t seem to pull itself out of a very '90s aesthetic. All that changed at Baselworld 2014, with the introduction of the Omega De Ville Trésor, a 40mm, manually-wound beauty that quietly rose above the bevy of sports watches also introduced. While we all appreciated the modern incarnation of the Seamaster 300, it was the Trésor that lingered in our minds since the fair.

With the introduction of the Master Co-Axial movement in 2013, touted as "the world's first truly anti-magnetic movement," Omega made it clear that technical development would remain a strong component of the brand's identity moving forward. The new movement featured a number of novel material applications that boosted its magnetic resistance to more than 15,000 gauss (whereas most watches up until that point protected against 1,000 gauss). In order to maintain quality control over the production of these new movements – with much higher thresholds for magnetic protection – Omega teamed up with the Swiss Federal Institute for Metrology (METAS) to develop a new certification process for anti-magnetic watches that can be utilized by any company in the watchmaking industry.

Vintage-inspired designs are popular right now as we’ve seen with brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines and Tudor – and Omega has done an especially good job capitalizing on its archive of great designs. Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated releases of 2014 was Omega’s introduction of the Seamaster 300 Master Co-axial, which not only rides the wave of nostalgia, but also the unwavering popularity of dive watches. The watch gets a lot of things right, and even the most cynical watch enthusiasts have been won over by its pitch-perfect blend of retro styling and dimensions and modern Omega technologies. We recently got our hands on the very first SM300 to make it into the U.S. for a long term review, even taking it scuba diving in some pretty extreme conditions to see how it performs.

Maybe new watches aren’t your thing. And that’s perfectly alright – the appeal of vintage watches just can’t be ignored. Owning and wearing a piece of history on your wrist is undeniably poetic. But if the deep world of horology has taught us anything, it’s that there’s always something to be discovered, and those discoveries can be made at all price points. For the first vintage edition of The Value Proposition, we’ll take a look at the Omega Seamaster 30, a quiet mid-century classic that hits the all right notes.